Military working dogs have been honoured with a new statue at the Australian War Memorial.

The memorial, ‘Circling into Sleep’, in the sculpture garden, honours generations of dogs who have served.

Circling into sleep. A memorial to military working dogs and the final resting place of ‘Aussie’, whose ashes are beneath the centre.
Bronze paw prints embedded in the sculpture represent a dog circling before it lies down to sleep. Podcast:https://t.co/VR5VvwmAux pic.twitter.com/ORVt0ZyRYc

— Aust War Memorial (@AWMemorial) February 24, 2020

Military working dogs are generally used by the Army and Air Force as sentries and as explosives detections.

Renowned artist Steven Holland created the memorial with the help of explosive detection dog Billie, who was trained to walk in a tight circle to create the paw-print track which spirals into the memorial.

The ashes of military working dog 426, Aussie, are interred beneath the memorial.

Australian War Memorial Public Programs Assistant Director Anne Bennie tells Deborah Knight visitors are encouraged to walk across the footprints.

“Whilst Billie is still very much with us, her footprints are what give that memorial character.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Australian War Memorial